1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an evacuation mattress for bed-ridden patients. More particularly, the invention relates to such a mattress in which a patient may be rapidly and securely enclosed in a mattress-cocoon for rapid evacuation from hospitals in an emergency, preferably by a single care-giver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In emergencies, non-ambulatory or bed-ridden patients must be quickly and safely evacuated from hospitals and other care facilities. During the Hurricane Katrina floods in New Orleans in 2005, the inability to quickly evacuate such patients was starkly apparent. Hospital and care facilities all over the world are now preparing for the emergency evacuation of bed-ridden patients. One solution for this demand is to use so-called “evacuation sleds” to remove patients from hospitals. While many sled-type patient evacuation devices are known (such as the evacuation sled disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0278754 to Walkingshaw), these sleds require several care-givers to transfer the patient from his/her bed into the sled for evacuation. The sleds are then dragged through the hospital, down numerous flights of stairs, and then to an evacuation center where the patient waits (often for hours) for transportation to another hospital, where the patient must be removed from the sled and placed in another bed (again requiring several care-givers). This leads to problems such as contusions in the patient from being bounced down steps, patient hypothermia, and the necessity for many care-givers to perform the multiple patient-transfer steps. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,321 to Graf solves many of these problems by disposing patient evacuation sheets underneath the hospital bed mattress. In an emergency, a single care-giver may pull the sheet ends up and over the patent's head and body, tighten down the sheets, and then evacuate the patent (while still on the mattress) down the stairs and out of the hospital. This system, however, requires the sheets to be properly disposed and positioned beneath the mattress. Also, mattresses vary in size and certain sizes may be unsuited for such sheets.
An Evacuation Mattress is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,487 to Hemphill, where a rescue device is disposed beneath a patient mattress. However, such a device suffers from the same problems noted above. See also International Application Number PCT/NL 86/00015 published Dec. 18, 1986 under No. WO 86/07253 based on a Netherlands application filed Jun. 12, 1985. The mattress is characterized by belts or ropes that pass through an interior of the mattress and are then fixed about the patient. However, it can not be expected that mere straps will properly encase the patient and his/her bedding for long. Also, dragging the mattress bottom over floors, concrete, and soil may be impractical.
Other known structures for evacuating non-ambulatory persons include boards or mats to support the patient. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,008 to Johansson discloses rigid mats with straps, respectively placed beneath the patient's chest and thighs. A relatively complicated Rescue Transportation Mattress is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,474 to Moran et al, wherein an inflatable support member and crossed straps are used to secure the person being transported. Again, such solutions do little for a quick, safe, and warm evacuation of a patient from a facility during an emergency.
A child Restraint Mattress With Removable Semi-Rigid Support is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,428 to Brooks. It includes a semi-rigid base and a sheet attachable to the base so as to secure the child between the base and the sheet. A restraining harness on top of the sheet secures the entire arrangement to a transporting mattress. A similar system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,378 to Barth, in which a sleeve may enclose the patient and mattress for transport. U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2007/0289066 to Davis discloses a bifurcated mattress with straps to enclose the patient. As with the above, such solutions have been found lacking as a comprehensive solution to the emergency evacuation problem for bed-bound patients.
There are numerous other patents and patent applications employing rigid or semi-rigid supports and belts or straps to secure the person transported to the support. One apparent disadvantage to the use of straps or belts is that they could exert undue or excessive pressure on particular locations on the bodies of some evacuees, such as in the case of recent surgery patients. Another disadvantage that is not obvious is that the use of many straps, harnesses, buckles, etc., delays the process of readying the patient for rescue and evacuation such as in the case of a hospital fire.
Thus, what is needed is an emergency evacuation mattress for bed-ridden patients, that is capable of operation by a single care-giver, provides a warm and secure cocoon for the patient, allows easy transport over any type of surface, provides proper support for all of the patient's body and bedding, and allows the patient to feel a high degree of comfort in what is otherwise a very stressful situation.